A Promise of Power (episode 1, Maurice the Chosen)
by Kumarisan
Summary: Sonic had a father who had a forbiden love. His father had a famous brother who had a blind passion. His brother had an infamous partner who had a dark secret... part one of four


A Promise of Power

Lawyer blurbs, credits, disclaimer

The following 'epic' is based on characters created by Sega, and also

Hedgehog" (SAT AM) Gearbox and "O" are the copyrighted property of Dan Drazen.All rights reserved. 

Any characters not based on the previously mentioned sources are sole property of...hmm that would be me!! 

A Promise of Power

The Industrial Revolution at the turn of the century gave birth to many scientific breakthroughs. It was a time where the majority of Mobius was united as one under the kingdom of Acorn under the rule of King Max Acorn. Life was not violent. Peace was mainstream. Prosperity was law. Threats were isolated. Life was…too perfect. Intellect was praised far beyond appreciation for physical prowess. Bio-engineer scientists were the "sports heroes" of the time. And no scientists came even close to the team of Defense Minister Julian Rob, and Sir Charles Hedgehog. 

Little was known about Julian, as his profile and personal information was property of the Acornian Government, locked away in the most secure databases in all of Mobius. Some suggested that Julian was made, not born. A droid, built solely for the purpose of deciphering the wonders of science. Others simply believed Julian to be the man he appeared to be; an immigrant from a distant planet, simply feeding his thirst for culture and knowledge. No one had heard from or even seen him until King Max named him defense minister of Royal Army. Not many foreigners were allowed to stay on Mobius, and even fewer became citizens. Because of the virtually flawless past of The Acornian Dynasty, the public simply accepted Max's judgment as fact. What reason had he given them to doubt his word? But the sentimental favorite of the team was no secret. Bio-geneticist Prince Charles Hedgehog. Knighted for his intelligence and known for his ingenuity, Charles was a quiet, drawn back character who believed in hard work, and bettering the lives of Mobian kind. Charles' younger brother, Maurice, was his opposite in every aspect but his heart. "Chuck" as Maurice would call him was calm and calculating, while Maurice was hyper and impulsive. Chuck's strength's were in his brain, while Maurice's was in his athleticism. It was said that Maurice once outran a motorcycle clocked at 89 mph. Though his brother was a knight, Maurice was not. He was happy working as a proto-cop for the local militia. After all, crime was the only thing he could fight legally. 

"Look Chuck, these days you're spending way too much time in that lab and not enough in the sun!" Maurice began. "I'll bet you can't even remember the last time you went to the beach!" Charles looked over at his younger sibling. "Too much sun is bad for you, little brother." He answered. "Besides, once Julian and I finish this project, it will add about fifty years to our life expectancy, so we'll ALL have more time to go to the beach. But unlike yourself, I'll be using my sunscreen!" Maurice frowned, picking up his brother's blueprints. "You know, even if the 'chamber of youth' machine actually does work, and we all live longer lives, you'll still waste your time trying to find out the meaning of life!" "It's a never ending process, Maurice!" Charles laughed, grabbing the blueprints. "Shouldn't you be watching the road?!" Maurice smirked, and pulled the transporter off to the side of the road. Charles looked around, perplexed. "What gives, Mo? Why'd you stop?"he began to ask, but Maurice dismounted the vehicle and calmly walked to the passenger side. Reaching in the open window, Maurice grabbed his older brother and tossed him into a nearbylake. "BWAHAHAHA!!! Let's see your technology save you this time!" Maurice laughed as Charles swam to shore. "What'd you do that for?!" Charles demanded, shoving the hysterical hedgehog into the transporter. Maurice couldn't respond, as he was laughing too hard. Although he was four years younger than Charles, he was far more physically developed."Teenage wasteland." Charles muttered, jumping into the driver's seat. "Hey, no fair! You said I could drive it!!!" Maurice complained, getting in the passenger side. Charles started the engine and sped off, ignoring his brother. When they arrived at their cabin, Charles stopped the transporter and turned sharply into the driveway. "Now don't be late for the test tonight, Maurice. I'm serious." He warned, not taking his eyes off the driveway. Maurice rolled his eyes. "Was that today, Chuck? Oh man, you're gonna need to find someone else..." "I don't care what you've got planned to do, Maurice! Cancel it! This is for the good of the world!" Charles shouted. Maurice looked at Charles, amazed, as Charles had never raised his voice at his brother before. 

2012 hours. "Probe?" 

"Probe."

"Hypodermic Needle?" 

"Needle. "

"Neuronautical transmission fluid?"  
"20 CCs NTF."

"Okay, charge up to 35%."  
"35%? Is that necessary? It seems a bit extreme. Why don't we start at 18%?"

"Maurice's will power is far too great to be affected by any charge under 28% just looked at his lifeline stats!"

…

"Off the charts! Acknowledged. Charging at 35%."

CLEAR!

***zzzip***

"Check the vital signs."

…

"Success! Lung capacity @ 135%!"  
"Well done, doctor!"

"Thank you, doctor! Discharge now."

"Discharging."  
***beooop***

"Vital signs?"

"Stable. Lung capacity @ 91% and rising… 95%…98%…99.4% 103%…105% the subject is hyperventilating! He's going into cardiac arrest!"

"Use the tranqs!"  
"Acknowledged!"

"Vital signs?!"

…

"Vital signs???"

"Normal. It seems we have a few kinks to work out."  
"Understood. Deposit 1000 credits into his account and send him home."

Maurice sat up in his bed, feeling the damp washcloth on his forehead. His head felt as if it had been inside the engine of an Acornian Stargazer. "Why is the room spinning?" He asked, hoping he wasn't alone."Ah, you're awake!" Charles answered, getting up from his computer desk. "I'm curious as to why you're surprised? The test WAS a success, right?" Maurice watched in horror as Charles began to pace around the room. He only paced when he didn't know how to break bad news to someone. "The test was ultimately a success, in the sense that we succeeded in what we were trying to accomplish." Charles explained. "But?" "But, it seems the process was meant to be a one way deal, and reversal of the process is very dangerous right now. Almost impossible. If you had been any less of a being…" "You're telling me that I'm still-" "Goodness no! You're back to as normal as you ever were. But we've still got a long ways to go until we can test again." Charles jumped out of his bed. "Tell me again. What are the benefits of internal cybernetic replacements?" Charles' eyes lighted up. " Just think of all the wear and tear the body does just living! With cybernetic enhancements, we would no longer have any biological viruses, and everyone would live much longer, more efficient lives, not having to worry about health!" "Wouldn't that lead to overpopulation? Why tamper with nature?" "It's in our nature as reasoning animals to find new ways to keep our civilization alive for as long as we can. Survival is part of nature." "Doesn't this process scare you, though? Suppose the technology fell into the wrong hands. We'd all be mindless robots doing the bidding of some crazy foreigner or something!" Charles rolled his eyes. "I know you don't like Julian, but that was a cheap shot. Besides, there is no way the chamber can alter the thought process. It hasn't been programmed to be that sophisticated. Why, if we could find a way to control the mind, we'd have done it by now, and taken the gene of evil out of our world!"


End file.
